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Events on Wednesday 16 March 1988 1
1988Halabja chemical attackIraqi forces gas thousands of Kurdish civiliansThe Iraqi military attacked the Kurdish town of Halabja with chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq War, killing an estimated 3,200 to 5,000 civilians. The attack became a defining atrocity of Saddam Hussein's campaign against Iraqi Kurds. It was later recognized by several governments as an act of genocide.